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The Pogo Connect from Ten One Design is maybe one of my most-anticipated gadgets of 2012, a pressure sensitive iPad stylus that uses Bluetooth 4.0 and ships very soon. In the meantime, the company has detailed a couple very interesting features today as it announces that pre-orders are now officially open to all. The Connect will offer interchangeable magnetic tips, and also a homing feature that lets you track down a misplaced stylus via iPad or iPhone.

The magnetic interchangeable tips mean that not only is it easy to replace with new tips when one wears down, but also it opens up the possibility of expanded tip options. Wacom offers various tips to mimic drawing and painting with different materials on its drawing tablets. The same experience could now be offered by Ten One down the road with the Pogo Connect, which would make this a much more exciting replacement for dedicated tablets.

In addition to magnetic tips, Pogo Connect detailed a locating feature that works via a radio transmitter on the Pogo Connect and helps the iPad determine its location relative to a connected iOS device. That means you’ll be able to tell whether you left it under a couch cushion or dropped it behind a bedside table, so long as it has power.

Another benefit of the Pogo Connect is its list of titles compatible at launch. Paper by FiftyThree is in there, as well as Sketchbook Pro, ArtRage, and some others. But as with every pressure-sensitive stylus on the market for the iPad, the quality of the experience will be determined by individual apps. Reviewers reported hit-or-miss usefulness with the Adonit Jot Touch on that score, and it’s likely some Connect apps will shine while others aren’t so noteworthy. Still, Ten One is packing this thing with a number of innovative features at its $79.95 price point, so it should be a strong contender.

What I’m most curious about is whether or not this can compare to experiences like those provided by Samsung’s S Pen on its Galaxy Note line of smartphones and tablets. Samsung is pushing that heavily as an advantage of its hardware, but if third-party accessories can do just as good or even better on the iPad, that difference could lose its power as a selling point. I’ll definitely have a review up of the Pogo Connect as soon as possible, in order to see whether or not this can finally satisfy my desire for an adequate mobile Wacom replacement.

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DescriptionThe Apple iPad, formerly referred to as the Apple Tablet, is a touch-pad tablet computer announced in January 2010, and released in April 2010. It has internet capabilities running on either WiFi or 3G, and offers an optional dock with a full size mechanical keyboard.
The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. primarily as a platform for audio-visual media …